New Jersey Lawmaker Proposes Bill To End Reimbursement For Preventable Medical Errors

Main Category: Public Health
Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 05 Nov 2008 - 11:00 PDT

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New Jersey Assembly member Paul Moriarty (D) this month introduced a bill that would prohibit New Jersey hospitals from being reimbursed for follow-up care of serious medical errors, the AP/Bergen Record reports. The legislation would prohibit insurance reimbursement for treatment related to 12 hospital-acquired conditions, including objects left inside a body during surgery, surgical-site infections, urinary tract infections from a catheter and receiving incompatible blood.

A separate proposal, sponsored by Moriarty and other Assembly members, would require the state Department of Health and Senior Services to release an annual report of preventable errors that occurred at individual health facilities. The bill also would allow patients to compare health care facilities in specific categories (Santi, AP/Bergen Record, 11/3).

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